RB Steak House

Black Angus beef sizzles as sushi and specials are always on a roll in Kahana

September 15, 2011

The RB Steak House in Kahana Gateway serves thick and juicy Black Angus filet mignons, grilled rib eyes and New York strips. All come out sizzling, piled high on plates with garlic mashed or baked potatoes and tangy house-made steak sauce or sauce Bernaise.

The sweet-corn-and-artichoke fritters are crisp and savory; and glistening oysters are freshly shucked and served on ice with ponzu and scallion. The iceberg wedge is crisp and crunchy, packed with applewood-smoked bacon, spiced walnuts and blue-cheese dressing.

This establishment rates right up there with the best steak houses on Maui. But it's more casual and not to be confused with the Black Angus franchise spread across the Mainland. This one's a Maui original.

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Owner Raul Bermudez is a well-known Maui chef and is a master at his craft. He started off decades ago under the tutelage of Chef Steve Amaral at the former Embassy Suites, followed Amaral's lead to the Kea Lani as executive sous chef, then the two chefs opened the wildly popular Cucina Pacifica restaurant in Kihei.

These days, Bermudez is satisfied with owning three restaurants, including the Big Wave in Kihei and the Sands of Kahana near RB Steak House.

Fact Box

Where: Located in Kahana Gateway at 4405 Honoapiilani Highway in Kahana.

Hours: Open daily from 11 a.m. to midnight. Lunch is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; pupu 2 to 5 p.m.; sushi and dinner 5 to closing. Breakfast is served Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For reservations: Or for catering, takeout or other information, call 669-8889.

All have consistently quality-driven products cooked to perfection at moderate prices.

"This place really has something for everyone," says the seasoned chef. "We've got certified Angus beef steaks, all kinds of fresh fish, light fare, burgers. We do breakfasts on the weekends all the way until 2 p.m., and we have Sunday jazz, a kids menu and many other specials."

"Eighty percent of the people who come here are locals," says veteran General Manager Fred Sabzalipour. "This is definitely the place to hang out."

Situated conveniently off the Honoapiilani Highway near Maui Brewing Co. and Roy's Kahana in West Maui, RB Steak House has a fun lounge with large booths, plenty of bar stools and a sushi bar, to boot.

"We do sushi every night from 5 to closing," Fred contin- ues. "If you walk in here from 5 to 7 p.m. and from 9 p.m. until our closing at midnight, you get 50 percent off our sushi rolls. We have two really great sushi chefs working here every day."

Some of you may know Casey Pquit, who formerly rolled fresh sushi at Sansei as well as Cane & Taro. The other sushi chef is Greg Tanihara, who has owned sushi houses in Tahiti and Southern California.

"I don't do classic sushi," Tanihara says. "I do more West Coast, L.A. style, I'm always trying to think out of the box. For instance, a favorite is the G Thing with crab meat and tempura shrimp combined with spicy tuna, Thai peanut sauce and eel sauce."

You may also order baked mussels, miso soup, hamachi kama or collar, scallop dynamite and RB's signature roll of seared filet mignon with shrimp tempura, ginger and miso dressing. Yum.

Happy hour runs daily from 3 to 6 p.m. and you'll find $3 draft beer and discounts on pupu. In addition, diners get 50 percent off entrees from 5 to 6:30 nightly. And, there is a three-course dinner special for $19.95 that is served from 6:30 p.m. until closing.

It features petite salad, choice of grilled flatiron steak, herb-roasted chicken breast or stuffed-pork loin along with choice of pineapple upside-down cake or a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Every Sunday from 3 to 6 p.m., John Maritano & Friends perform jazz in the lounge and you will get happy hour prices on drinks and pupu.

"We're adding a lot of different things," says Sabzalipour. "As you know, times are tough out there right now. So we're adding more affordable items - all perfect for kamaaina diners."

"This is what we do here at RB Steak House," Bermudez says. " We give a lot of discounts."